Should kids have to wear a uniform in school?

[bodie]

I have just had to buy for the urchin -  white polo tops,  navy jumpers, grey shorts(summer), grey trousers, grey socks, black shoes, thankfully not a tie until next year.  Is this necessary or a waste of money?

[renaeden]

I can see good and bad things about a uniform.

Good - they don't ruin their other good clothes. They don't get ostracised for not wearing the "coolest" label clothes. They don't waste time by choosing what to wear because it is the same thing all the time.

Bad - they can't show their individuality (this matters a lot to some people). Everyone looks the same (bad for me anyway, I have a hard enough time telling people apart). Uniforms can be over-the-top expensive.

[Adam]

good and bad points, I agree

I would say unifmorms are generally a good thing IF they are affordable and if they aren't gender exclusive ie forcing girls to wear skirts

also they should be appropriate. no stupid poncey/uncomfortable things, especially for primary school kids

they need to be practical

also keeping to the uniform rules shouldnt be put above everything else

[renaeden]

Yeah I do think girls should be allowed to wear pants as part of a uniform.

[bodie]

Yeah when i went to school girls couldn't wear trousers,  not even in the winter! 
Glad that has changed.

used to wear em anyway under long skirts and with boots.   

[Calavera]

No to school uniform ... at least not in Lebanon.

I remember I was wearing a full on dress (from neck to bottom) back in elementary school.

[midlifeaspie]

I rather like them

['Butterflies']

Never wore them, except on certain days, like school photo day.

I don't like the idea of forcing kids to wear a stupid uniform, although it would stop people being teased for wearing bad clothes.

[eris]

I can see good and bad things about a uniform.

Good - they don't ruin their other good clothes. They don't get ostracised for not wearing the "coolest" label clothes. They don't waste time by choosing what to wear because it is the same thing all the time.

Bad - they can't show their individuality (this matters a lot to some people). Everyone looks the same (bad for me anyway, I have a hard enough time telling people apart). Uniforms can be over-the-top expensive.

I pretty much agree with all of this. When I was younger no way I would want to wear uniforms. But now I can see why it is a good idea. Especially where I went to school in elementary school, kids really got picked on for their clothes. I mean if you werent super trendy you got teased. It was pretty bad. I can see a big part of bullying go away with uniforms.

[Icequeen]

Uniforms.  

And have you ever noticed there isn't anything "reasonably priced" (at least not for me ) when it comes to something sold or "required" by the school?

Glad my son's school hasn't gone to this, they're anal-retentive enough with their 2 pages of dress code "requirements".   

[Callaway]

I think that uniforms are a bad idea because they can be very expensive for some parents to afford and if the student is not allowed to wear his own outerwear, the  winter coats can be ridiculously expensive and/or not warm enough.

[Osensitive1]

although it would stop people being teased for wearing bad clothes.

It's still easy to tell who has the crisp new ones, and who has them handed down from siblings, used for too long, or bought used.

Bad - they can't show their individuality .

The nonconformists will always work out all the little ways to bend the rules without breaking.

[bodie]

Yes at school i was a non-conformist!  I used to try anything to not comply.  I hated
our uniform.

Our uniform was black or dark grey, or a combination as in grey skirt black jumper
but always  had to wear a school tie.  I used to go in a black tie, then after i was warned
i got my biro and scribbled out the red and white on my school tie - so it was black anyway.

Am laughing now and cringing at how silly it was.  I remember the wording didn't say
what colour shirt (everyone just wore white or blue)  but i used to turn up in a black
polo shirt, with a black tie  hehehe

[Frolic_Fun]

I think they're handy really for quite a few reasons - not having to dirty up normal clothes, less emphasis on appearing trendy, easy identification etc. There's less of that divide between popular kids and other kids when it comes to everyone wearing uniforms, compared to schools that don't. For example, you're less likely to be picked on for being a "nerd" since everyone nearly looks the same. I can't say there's less bullying though, people are bastards and that'll happen anyway.

To me they also teach students how uniforms are important to identify your profession and such, ie. to identify if you're someone working at a takeaway or if you're a policeman. Without such uniforms, no one could easily tell who is who and what that person is doing. To consider it a breach of individuality to me is frankly stupid and insecure, because you're still the same arsehole to the next regardless how you look!

[ZEGH8578]

I think that uniforms are a bad idea because they can be very expensive for some parents to afford and if the student is not allowed to wear his own outerwear, the  winter coats can be ridiculously expensive and/or not warm enough.

my first thought was, if uniforms are mandatory, they should also not be paid for by the wearer/parents.